“I have come to a situation where I want to be open about how I feel. I have been diagnosed with mixed dementia, in my case Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia “, says Law in a statement on Manchester United’s website.
With 237 goals in 404 games, he is United’s third best goal scorer of all time after Bobby Charlton and Wayne Rooney.
In 1964 he received the Ballon d’Or, the prize for the world’s best football player.
Law has seen several friends suffer from the disease which he describes as “extremely challenging”.
“You hope it does not affect you. You even joke about it to make it easier to ignore early signs because you do not want it to be true, ”he says.
“You get angry, frustrated, confused and then worried – worried about your family because they will be the ones to take care of it.”
Bobby Charlton, Laws’ teammate at Manchester United for several years, has also been diagnosed with the disease. In addition, four more members of England’s World Cup-winning squad from 1966 suffered from dementia at their deaths.
The question of the main game Implications in football have become a hot potato in the British Isles in recent years.
In July, the English Football Association (FA) presented new guidelines for both amateurs and professionals, which means that players are only allowed to perform ten strong nods per training week from this season.
Read more: Five of the World Cup heroes demented – the debate is growing in England
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